


Winning

by sunalso



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Chopped, F/M, Reality TV, Snails
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 23:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20629322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunalso/pseuds/sunalso
Summary: AU. Sinara needs to win $10 grand in order to open her restaurant in New York. Her biggest competitor is Kasius, who already owns his own high concept dining establishment. It all comes down to the dessert round, with snails.Beta'd by Gort





	Winning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheQueenInTheNorth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/gifts).

> Please note this is a completely AU Kasius and Sinara, who are human in this fic, but still very much themselves (I hope). Happy Birthday --a day late--to the wonderful TheQueenInTheNorth. (Sorry they're not blue!)

Sinara knew she would win. She had to. Otherwise, her dream would be over before it began.

The venison sizzled as she seared it, and the aromatic scent wafting from the meat let her know she’d seasoned it perfectly. The saffron from the basket was in the mashed potatoes, giving them an amazing color, and she was boiling down the gummy worms to make a reduction to serve with the steak. Whoever came up with the ingredients for these baskets had to be sadistic.

Sinara was impressed.

The competition was stiff. The first round had been lost because the chef had boiled his quail eggs too long. Everyone else’s flavors and presentation had been perfect. She’d still crush all of them by the end and pay the landlord of her about-to-be restaurant the eight thousand dollars he was demanding as “insurance” before he’d let her open. He was holding her restaurant hostage because he could, because he knew with her and her family’s history in New York she wouldn’t try any legal means of help.

She’d kill him, if she thought she could get away with it.

Her eyes slid to where Kasius was doing something with clarified butter. He was a much bigger threat than the other chef. Tess cursed as she cooked, and since those curses had grown louder and more colorful, Sinara felt certain things weren’t going well for her.

The next round. That was the only thing that mattered right now.

With efficient motions, she carefully removed the venison from the heat to a plate to let it rest. As it cooled, she plated her potatoes and tasted her reduction. Too sweet. Sinara grimaced and looked at what she had available. Vinegar or lemon juice.

Would a hint of lemon be too much with the potatoes?

Vinegar would be more adult and pair better with the venison. She went for it, adding a tiny amount of balsamic vinegar and deglazing the pan.

Reduction done, she sliced the venison. The beautiful, deep red color reassured her that she’d gotten the sear perfect without overcooking.

Sinara could imagine her restaurant, with its fusion of Middle-Eastern and French flavors opening to rave reviews. Her dream, a new life free from the death she’d walked with for years, would soon be a reality.

“Time!” Ben’s voice cheerily rang out, and Sinara held her hands up and stepped back. Her hair hung limp, and a bead of sweat ran down her back.

Tessa looked just as frazzled, but Kasius looked calm and cool. Damn him. It was so unfair that he was so handsome with his dark eyes and hair, and the cleft in his chin she wanted to bite.

His smugness entirely ruined the combined effect his face and body had on her, which was for the best. She didn’t need to be fantasizing about her competitor, especially when he also hailed from New York. And especially when he kept sweeping his gaze over her and she flushed warmer than her oven every time.

The three dishes were set in front of both judges, and Sinara stood in a line on the other side of the table from them with Tess and Kasius.

Sinara both hated this part and loved it. Her heart thudded in her ears as the judges hemmed and hawed over Kasius’ venison stuffed peppers. The saffron and gummy worms were in the stuffing, and the judges looked very impressed that the flavors melded well.

Kasius’ smugness increased to unbearable levels as both judges praised him. She imagined stabbing him. Even though that was something old her would do, and not the new Sinara.

She could hardly breathe as the judges moved onto her dish.

“The sear is excellent,” Phil said, smiling at her. She hoped he took the twitching of her lips as a return smile.

The potatoes were commended for their light texture and delicate flavor.

“I saw you reach for the lemon,” Piper said. “That would have been a mistake. The citrus would have turned this sauce into something for children instead of the rich masterpiece it is. Excellent work.”

Sinara murmured her thanks and barely heard what they said about Tess’ dish before Ben directed the three chefs behind the scenes so that the judges could confer.

The waiting area smelled of bleach, but Sinara didn’t care as she grabbed an iced water bottle and chugged most of it down.

“It’s fucking hot,” she growled, wiping her lips with the back of her hands.

“You could take some of your clothes off. I won’t mind.”

Sinara whipped around to face Kasius. She supposed he was too haughty for even the heat to dare touch.

“Tess went out for a smoke,” he said, though Sinara hadn’t asked and hadn’t wanted to bother asking how the other chef had done. “Her venison was slightly undercooked. So I think it’s going to come down to you and me.” She rolled her eyes and didn’t back away as Kasius stepped into her personal space. He traced a finger over her cheek. “I thought you looked familiar in your picture, and a little research, of the right kind, confirmed it. What are you doing here, Sinara?”

Her stomach fell. He knew who she was. Or more accurately, who she had been. “Who are you?” she whispered.

His thumb swiped across her lower lip. “Owner and chef of a high concept restaurant in SoHo.”

She shook her head. “Who are you really?”

“Faulnak’s brother.”

“Shit.” Her eyes closed. He was royalty then, even if it was of only his restaurant. Nobody in New York could touch him.

“I’m going to ask again,” he said, right in her ear, making her gasp softly as goosebumps rushed down her neck. “What are you here?”

“I’m opening a restaurant. It won’t compete with yours. It’s Middle Eastern fusion, but my landlord, he…knows. And wants hush money.”

“Why don’t you—”

Her eyes popped open. Kasius was startlingly close. He smelled of the rich spices they’d used in the last round. “I can’t. Even if it looks like an accident, everyone will know it’s me, and there goes my new life. If I win, I can pay.”

He nodded and looked like he was going to say something, but then Tess came back in, bringing the scent of outside and cigarettes with her, and Sinara sprang away from Kasius.

Ben appeared, and he smiled at her as if he could read her mind. That was a disturbing thought. She glared at him in return.

“The judges are ready,” he said, gesturing for the chefs to follow. They stood in the same places before the judge’s table and waited. “The dish on the chopping block is—” Ben paused dramatically before he whisked the cover off a plate on the table. “Tess’. Sorry Tess, but you’ve been chopped.”

The judges explained their reasoning, which mostly involved the undercooked venison.

Tess left, and new baskets showed up at Sinara and Kasius’ workstations. She approached the basket with apprehension. There was always one ingredient that had nothing to do with dessert. After Ben made his intro, she unloaded her basket. There were gingerbread cookies, already made, sapodillas, dried dandelion petals, and…

“Snails?” she exclaimed, holding up a can that exclaimed “extra-large” in bold letters.

“Begin!” Ben called, sounding excited. The cameras moved in on her, and she had to fight to keep from pushing the overeager young men behind the lenses away.

She could do this.

Cutting up one of the sapodillas, she tasted it to test for ripeness. The flavor of caramelized pears exploded across her tongue, and she made an embarrassing moan of enjoyment. The crack of a pan hitting the floor from Kasius’ work area brought her back to reality. She needed a plan.

Sapodilla custard with a dandelion sponge cake, and the snails could be chopped up and fried with a gingerbread crumb coating as a topper.

There had better be enough time.

Sinara shut out all distractions as she moved ruthless and efficiently around her kitchen. The cake rose, the custard set, and the snails fried to perfection. They’d mostly be salty and should taste excellent with the ginger.

As she carefully plated her confection, creating rounds of cake and custard, and hopping the latter kept its shape, she looked up to find Kasius using the ice cream machine.

Everybody knew the ice cream machine was the kiss of death.

A lock of hair curled over his forehead as he fought with the machine, and she greatly appreciated the way his jaw clenched in frustration, and the muscles of his forearms stood out.

Hope bloomed in her chest.

She was going to win.

Sinara gleefully presented her dish when Ben called time. Kasius’ dish looked alright, with sapodilla ice cream, dandelion crisp, ginger sauce, and a hint of snail mousse.

Her dish went first. “Excellent transformation of the ingredients,” Phil said. “You came here to impress.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, trying to smile again.

There were no major faults with the dish, and Sinara’s entire body hummed with excitement.

The ice cream had started to melt slightly when Kasius’ dish was served. He looked grim. Phil made a face when he tasted the ice cream, and Piper grimaced.

“It’s too sweet,” she said. “I saw you initially prepped the anti-griddle and was hoping for something more avant-guard than a dish of ice cream.”

“Thank you,” Kasius said, back stiff.

The judges motioned for Ben to take Kasius and Sinara to the back, but this time they didn’t have a moment alone as they were both handed over to camera crews to get reaction sound bites for the show.

The time flew as she emoted, badly, while the crew directed her.

When she returned to face the judges, she had to lace her fingers together to keep them still. Usually, she carried something to fidget with, but not today.

“Let’s see who is on the chopping block!” Ben raised the cover off the losing dish. “Kasius, you’ve been chopped. Judges?”

The judges explained their reasoning and stressed that it had been a tight race. Stormy-faced, Kasius thanked them and left.

Sinara lost the battle with herself to not watch his ass as he left. She accepted her congratulations with a small but genuine smile.

Relief came a few days later when a check for ten-thousand dollars appeared in her account.

She paid her landlord, who a week later sold the building and disappeared. The new landlord, some holding company, lowered her rent immediately.

Sinara knew she should be suspicious but didn’t want to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth.

It took another week for her place to be ready for opening that night.

After supervising a good, and ecstatic, start in the kitchen, she walked through the dining area, trying to find anything out of place.

She only found one thing.

“Kasius,” she said, crossing her arms and frowning at him. He sat sprawled in a chair at a table with his long legs stretched out. His suit looked like it cost more than the building. “I’d ask how you got in, but I think I know.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m here to talk to you, but you can tell me to go away. I might even do it.”

Why did he have to be so infuriating?

And hot.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Dinner.”

“We open in two hours.”

“When you have a night off. I’ll cook.”

“Is it going to be one of those dishes with two strips of lettuce and a mushroom accompanied by a description of how it represents man’s need for spiritual sustenance?”

“Fine, you can cook.”

She grinned, but then used the pointy toe of her pump to kick his dress shoe. “Did you lose on purpose?”

He raised a brow. “I did not lose anything. The ice cream machine lost.”

She growled and hurled herself into his lap, her legs over his and her hands around his neck. He smelled good, male and musky, and she took a deep breath as her thumbs pressed against his throat.

He smiled, and his hand trailed down her back. “I like this. And I knew if I gave you the money, you wouldn’t take it. So I used the ice cream machine with predictable results.”

“I hate you.” Her hips moved in a way that said the opposite.

“Rematch? I’m sure the producers can be convinced.”

“I’m still going to win.”

His face became serious. “I know.” He kissed her, and after a moment of shock, she kissed him back. He tasted a lot like the sapodillas had, rich and spicy. Sinara made the exact same moan she had while eating one, and Kasius held her tighter against him.

He broke the kiss, looking up at her. Somehow, her hands had moved from his neck to tangle in his hair.

“I’m going to win,” she said again, no longer talking about _Chopped_.

Kasius’ smile was warm, and a little smug. “I know.”


End file.
